Verizon announces new prepaid plans, including $80 smartphone option

Verizon today took the wraps off of new prepaid plans, including an $80 smartphone plan and a trio of hotspot offerings. First up, Verizon is launching a new prepaid smartphone plan on May 1st that'll include unlimited talk and text as well as 1GB of data for $80 per month. The plan is compatible with the Samsung Illusion (shown above), which Big Red will be offering both in stores and online in a prepaid package for $169.99. The Illusion prepaid pack will also be available at Best Buy, Target, RadioShack and Walmart in the coming weeks.

Also announced today is the prepaid availability of the Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4510L along with a set of plans that'll work with it. Users that opt for the prepaid MiFi 4510L will be able to sign up for one of three plan options: 250MB for $15 per week, 3GB for $60 per month or 10GB for $90 per month. The prepaid MiFi 4510L itself will be available for $129.99 at Verizon's brick and mortar locations and its website, and it'll also be hitting Best Buy, RadioShack and Walmart in the near future.

So there's Verizon's new prepaid offerings. The new $80 smartphone plan seems like it's worth considering if you're looking to go contract-free and don't need more than a gig of data per month. but it is kind of a bummer that the Illusion is the only handset that's compatible with the new plan for now. Here's to hoping that more smartphones are eventually made available with the $80 option. Verizon's full announcement of the new prepaid plans is below.

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless today announced the availability of a new prepaid plan beginning May 1, offering unlimited talk and text messaging, as well as 1 GB of data for $80 per month. This monthly plan, available on the prepaid Samsung Illusion™, provides customers with an affordable, flexible option to take advantage of the nation’s largest, most reliable 3G network without the commitment of an annual contract. The Samsung Illusion prepaid package will also be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $169.99. In the coming weeks, the Samsung Illusion prepaid is also available at Best Buy®, Target®, RadioShack and Walmart.

Additionally, starting May 1, customers can purchase a prepaid Verizon Jetpack™ 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510L and take advantage of new prepaid Mobile Broadband plans. With the prepaid Jetpack, customers can now create a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of sharing the high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously. Prepaid 4G LTE Mobile Broadband plans are as follows:

$15 for 250 MB of data weekly

$60 for 3 GB of data monthly

$90 for 10 GB of data monthly

The Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4510L prepaid package will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $129.99. In the coming weeks, it will also be available at Best Buy, RadioShack and Walmart.

From keeping in touch with friends to surfing the Web, Verizon Wireless gives customers the power and flexibility to stay connected, with no annual contract, to America’s largest and most reliable high-speed wireless network. For more information on prepaid plan offerings, visit www.verizonwireless.com/prepay.

For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 93.0 million retail customers, including 88.0 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 80,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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